Value Added: Stimulating Cognitive Dissonance
The federal government's "Cash-for-Clunkers" scheme winds down this week, and commentators are rushing to judge the program a success or failure. Although "Cash-for-Clunkers" boosted auto production and Midwest factory output in July (and, likely, August), it remains to be seen whether the gains will be sustainable in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, other stimulus spending rolls on, flying comfortably under the radar compared to the much-publicized auto trade-in program. The lack of media coverage is understandable: whereas "Clunkers" was a national policy, most stimulus spending is intensely local. And when it comes to these local projects, as The New York Times reported in a fascinating story last week, the public response tends not toward NIMBY--"Not In My Backyard"--but rather toward JIMBY--"Just in My Backyard."...
